Automatic transmitter for telegraphic signals.



H. BILLE. AUTOMATIC TRANSMITTER FOR TELEGRAPHIG SIGNALS. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 27, 1913.

1,098,084, Patented May 26, 1914,

a 5 9 1 (2 I L *3! mam es COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH co.. WASHINGTON, D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT or a on.

HARALD BILLE, or cnoYiJoN, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO cannn, BILLE & 00., trim, or

cnoxnoiv, ENGLAND.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 26, 1914.

Application filed March 27, 1913. Serial N 0. 757,178.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, I-IARALD BILLE, a subject of the King of Denmark, residing at Croydon, in the county of Surrey, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Transmitters for Telegraphic Signals, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to automatic transmitters for telegraphic signals of the kind in which contact making parts are controlled by a perforated paper slip, and the new apparatus can be used in the same manner as the usual transmitters for closing, interrupting and reversing of signal currents in land-line or cable-telegraphy, or for effecting or controlling the movements of contacts for the closing and interrupting of strong currents in accordance with the telegraph signals for the transmission of signals in wireless telegraphy, where great quanti ties of energy are sometimes to be controlled.

The invention in its preferred form will now be fully explained in connection with the annexed drawing, in which- Figure 1 shows the essential parts of an ordinary well known so called WVheatstone transmitter, and Fig. 2, the new and improved form for such transmitter.

In Fig. 1 there is shown the well known form of Wheatstone transmitter such as is described in T. E. 'Herberts book on telegraphy, published in London by Whittiker and 00., in 1906, and in which a designates a star-wheel which is provided with teeth adapted to co-act with the roll 6, the teeth of the star-wheel engaging the central row of holes in the well known VVheatstone perforated slip. A rocking beam 0 is connected to the star-wheel a by any suitable gearing (not shown) so that when the rocking beam is caused to move up and down it will be moved at a speed which conforms to the rate of speed at which the star-wheel moves the perforated slip through the instrument, the rocking beam being actuated by means of any well known form of mechanism for that purpose, one of such mechanisms being described in the book referred to. Two rods 6 and f, are fixed to the horizontal ends of the levers g and h, which are pivoted at i and on the front of the machine, and are subjected to an upward pressure by means of the spiral springs m and n. The two rods 6 and f are arranged one opposite each of the two lines of larger holes in the punched tape, so that their ends will project through the paper in case a hole is found or will be stopped by the paper if no hole is found. The rod 6 projects through the holes in the lower row of the slip, and the rod f through those in the upper row. The adjustable studs 0 and p and the spiral springs acting upon the rods 6 and f keep them in the correct position. \Vhile the sprocket wheel a feeds the tape forward a length equal to the distance between two consecutive feed holes the beam makes a complete oscillation. Projecting from the beam 0 are two steel pins q and 1 against which the levers g and h are normally held by the springs m and n, so that the levers are kept rocking in unison with the rocking beam 0. The lever g has at its lower end a rod 8 pivoted to it, and the lever h is connected at its upper end to a similar rod t. The free ends of these rods pass freely through holes in the arms u and o of the rocking lever 00, and upon them are screwed adjustable collars g and 2. The lever m consists of an ebonite disk on which are mounted the steel levers u and o and the two brass plates carrying the pins 1 and 2. These brass plates are insulated from each other by ebonite, and a long thin coil of wire connects them respectively to the brass contacts 3 (line) and 4 (earth). The pins 1 and 2 rock between the bellcrank levers 5 and 6, making contact with either alternately. These bell-crank levers are kept apart by a small screw 7 fixed in the lever 5 and abutting on a jewel set in the lever 6. The levers 5 and 6 are respectively connected with the positive and the negative poles of the battery. The four brass mountings 3, 8, 9 and 4 are insulated from each other, by being mounted on a plate of ebonite 10. The springs 11 and 12 keep the bellcranks 5 and 6 together and against the pins 1 and 2. They are of course kept a distance apart greater than the diameterof the said pins by means of the screw 7. The travel of the rocking lever m is limited by the abutment screws 13 and 14, while a sharp and definite action on either side or the other with strong contacts is secured by means of thejockey pulley 15 riding on the point of the steel arm 1). The action of this well known apparatus is as follows: When the transmitter is set in motion the rocking beam 0 vibrates and the pins 9 and 1- move alternately up and down. When the pin {1 rises, the hori- Zontal arm of the lever 5 is free to rise also, and the spring mcauses it to do so. The rod 8 is thereby moved toward the right and the collar y pushes the arm a of the rocking lever 50 toward the right. The pin 0* simultaneously descends, pressing the lever it down and moving the collar 0 clear of the arm n. hen the pin 1 rises in its turn, the reverse action takes place, the rod 8 being moved to the left so that the collar y is clear of the arm 'uand the rod t being moved to the right so that the collar .2 pushes the upper arm 1 smartly to the right. It will thus be remarked that the whole of the work for moving tne parts making and breaking the contacts for reversing the current is done by the springs m and n, the rocking beam 0 being used only to tighten them and remove some of the obstacles in the way; (all the positive work for moving the contacts is taken from the said springs).

The new machine shown in Fig. 2 has essential parts similar to those of the old transmitter and such corresponding parts are designated by the same reference letters in the two figures.

he main spindle carries a crank 16 coacting with aconnecting rod 17 The main spindle is as in the machine shown in Fig. 1 geared to the feed wheel (6, thus for every feeding of a feed hole by the wheel a a complete oscillation of the connecting rod 17 and of the parts attached thereto is effected. The connecting rod 17 is fixed at 18 by a pin to the three-armed lever 19. This lever, by means of the link 20, pivoted to one arm thereof and to the pin 22 on the rocking beam 0, communicates to the latter oscillations derived from the crank 16. The pins (1 and r fixed on the beam 0, bear on the levers g and 7b, which carry the Selecting rods 6 and f, as in the above described ma chine. The springs m and n keep the levers normally pressed upward against the pins 9 and r of the rocking beam. An abutting piece 23 stops the upward movement of the rods when they have passed through the perforations of the Wheatstone slip for a purpose described below. The levers g and it also carry two rods 2 1 and 25, only one of which 2% can be seen in the drawing, which rods provide bearings for the heads of the thrusters 26 and 27. The rods 24 and 25 are guided in a stud 28 to prevent side motion. The thrusters 26 and 27 are two rods pivoted each to one of the arms of the three-armed lever 19 as shown. l/Vhen for instance the lever g is raised, as shown in the drawing, the rod 24 is raised also and brings the ends of the thruster 26, opposite the left end of av rod 29, called a tapper. The total movement of the thruster in horizontal direction is considerably greater than that of the corresponding tapper, it being only at the Very end of the stroke of the thruster that they come into contact. It is in order to insure that during the period of contact the thrusters should have only a horizontal motion, that the levers g and It are stopped by the abutment piece 23. The tappers 29 and 30 in turn, transmit the motion of the thruster to the rocking lever 05, which is of similar con struction to that of the machine shown in Fig. 1 and carries contact pins 1 and 2 electrically connect-ed respectively, with the screws 31 and 32 which serve as contact studs for line and earth. The contact pins 1 and 2 make contact alternately with the levers 5 and 6, connected respectively to the positive and negative poles of the battery, and carried on the insulating piece 10. They are kept apart by a hard steel button 33 fixed on the lever 5 and abutting on a jewel tired in the lever 6. Owing to the machine being completely motor driven greater movements can be allowed than with a machine in which active parts are only spring driven, and thus it is unnecessary to provide for an adjustment for the distance between he levers 5 and 6. These are kept in corn tact with the pins 1 and 2 by the springs 11 and 12.

The upper arm 0 on the rocking lever is beveled as to its end whereon rides a jockey pulley 15, mounted on the block 34, which can be adjusted by means of a screw 35. The abutments 13 and 141: limit the travel of the rocking lever 00 as in the old machine.

The main difierence between the two instruments will be seen to lie principally in the means used for moving the contact making parts for reversing the current. In the new machine, the drive is a positive one from the source of power of the machine through rigid mechanical links, while in the old machine, the driving power for moving the contact making parts is taken from the small springs m and a. This enables the new machine to have far stouter parts, which can better resist wear and give better electric contacts. Another difference in con struction which is of consequence is the arrangement of the adjustable parts. In the new machine the adjustments are: the alteration of the mid position of the rocking lever, and the alteration in the amount of travel of the same. The first adjustmentis effected by moving the jockey pulley block 3st backward or forward by means of the screw 35; the second adjustment is effected by means of the abutment screws 13 and 14. All these adjustments, it will be noted, are easily accessible, and can be locked with great facility, In the old machine shown in Fig. 1, the adjustments are the phase at which the reversals will take place, by means of the collars y and 2 which are screwed on the rods 5 and t; and the amount of travel allowed to the rocking lever w. Owing to the slenderness of the parts, the former adjustment especially is often very troublesome to effect. But most of the differences of details will be found to be on the whole one of size and dimensions; the new machine admits of larger, stronger parts, and large bearing surfaces which minimize the wear.

While the transmitter described is meant for use in ordinary telegraphy over lines, it is obvious that the thrusters which are positively driven by the motor and only controlled in their position by the perforated tape can be used for effecting other work than moving contact making parts. In wireless telegraphy for instance the signals are sometimes produced by interrupting and closing oscillation circuits in which considerable amounts of energy are found, and controlling of heavy contact making and breaking parts can be efiected by means of the thrusters controlled by a perforated paper slip in the manner above described.

WVhat I claim is 1. An automatic transmitter for telegraphic signals comprising a perforated tape, contact making elements, two tappers controlling said contact making elements, a rocking beam, pins on said beam, pivotally mounted levers actuated by said pins, selecting rods on said levers coacting with said perforated tape, an abutting piece for limitin the upward movement of said selecting ro s, rods depending from said levers, a thruster connected to each depending rod, and means for actuating said thrusters to transmit movement through said tappers to said contact making elements.

2. An automatic transmitter for telegraphic signals comprising a perforated tape, contact making elements, pivotally mounted thrusters, means controlled from said strip for adjusting same in the vertical direction and positive means for moving said thrusters in the longitudinal direction to actuate contact making elements.

In witness whereof, I have subscribed my signature, in the presence of two witnesses.

HARALD BILLE.

Witnesses:

WALDO M. CHAPIN, IDA M. PATTERSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G. 

